Emma Raducanu vs Katie Boulter to continue on Sunday after thrilling tie-break at Rothesay Open in Nottingham

Posted by Admin June 15, 2024 Sports

Emma Raducanu and defending champion Katie Boulter will continue their Rothesay Open semi-final on Sunday after play was halted following the conclusion of a thrilling tie-break.

Former US Open champion Raducanu prevailed 15-13 at the end of a water-tight first set where neither player wanted to give any ground.

The winner of the tie will return to the court later on Sunday for the final, which will be against either Diane Parry or Karolina Pliskova, who will also have to play their semi-final on the same day.

The two British stars spent most of the day waiting to get on court after rain caused havoc with the schedule, but after finally getting started just after 6.30pm, they could only manage one set before play was stopped following the conclusion of the first-set tie-break due to a combination of inclement weather and bad light just before 8pm on Saturday evening in Nottingham.

Both saved break points in the middle of the opening set and it soon became apparent it would be decided by a tie-break. No one could have predicted just how tense the decider would be, though.

Raducanu endured a bad slip on the wet surface at 3-1 down in the tie-break and jarred her left knee, on a day where weather played havoc with the schedule. However, the 21-year-old stood down the medical attention and went on to win the next three points.

It swung both ways in an enthralling 10-minute period where both players wasted set points.

Raducanu eventually took her sixth as she punished Boulter’s second serve to finish at the net.

After winning the set, Raducanu approached the umpire to advise that the court was too wet for play to continue and after tournament referee Jane Harvet came out to check the light and conditions, the match was suspended.

The chaotic impact on the schedule means both semi-finals and the final of the tournament will be decided on Sunday.

2016 champion Pliskova and Frenchwoman Parry did not even get on court as both were in quarter-final action earlier in the day.

Pliskova beat top seed Ons Jabeur in a tight three-setter, while Parry overcame Kimberly Birrell 6-3 7-6.

Boulter was lucky enough to have got her quarter-final win in the books on Friday, while Raducanu had a stroke of fortune on Saturday morning as her last-eight opponent Fran Jones withdrew due to a shoulder injury.

The walkover gave Raducanu a first semi-final since September 2022.

In the men’s Challenger event, Britain’s Billy Harris and Jacob Fearnley made it through to the semi-finals.

Fearnley will play Mattia Bellucci after beating third seed Juncheng Shang 7-5 7-5, while Harris was winning 6-2 2-1 against Mikhail Kukushkin when the Kazakh retired injured.